Sorry... What Was I Saying?

It's alright to admit that you've missed me. I've missed you too. A lot has changed in the world - my world, and the bigger one I've come to call home - since we last spoke. I'll try to pick up our conversation again, and get back to the business of blogging on a more regular basis.

With that in mind, there was a fascinating article in the New York Times yesterday by David Carr about a moment that represented the dizzying heights to which the magazine publishing industry had once hyped itself up, and down from which it has come crashing.

"Most of us who covered media did not fully understand the implications of the new technology that could publish and distribute information at zero marginal cost. The Web was viewed as a niche, as a way to supplement and enhance the printed product, certainly not a threat that would make many of those publications obsolete."

Take a look at "10 Years Ago, An Omen No One Saw."

Of course this story can only have one ending. An ending that brings us to the present, and the new world of blogs, print-on-demand, ebooks, and digital media. As for the future of publishing? Its fate is in our hands.

Follow-Up: Amazonian Intrigue

As far as I can tell there won't be much more information coming regarding the Amazon "glitch" that lit Twitter on fire and sent the company stumbling through controversy this past weekend. In addition to the company's claims of "cataloging error," a hacker has also claimed responsibility for the problem on his blog.

I remain skeptical of both explanations, and in the end we may never know what really happened. Here's hoping the situation is rectified in a hurry, no matter the cause.

Read a thorough summary of the story in the New York Times today here.

Amazon A-Twitter

There is a rapidly unfolding story in the world of book sales that caused an absolute Twitter frenzy over the weekend. According to reports, Amazon has recently stripped certain book titles of their sales rankings. From what I can gather, in addition to the bestseller lists, Amazon sales rankings also factor into their search results, an important tool in online book sales.

What books are being stripped? Authors and users are initially reporting that the connective thread between the targeted book titles is erotic content and gay and lesbian content.

Amazon officials are currently calling it a glitch, but Twitterers, responding to a tweet from book critic Bethanne Patrick who initially sparked the frenzy, have seized on the topic and remain skeptical, many calling for a boycott under the hashtag #amazonfail.

Seattle Pi is currently quoting Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener as saying, "This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection."

This story is unfolding so rapidly, I'm certain I won't be able to keep up with it on this blog. You can follow it with more reliability (no rumor or unsourced quotes) over at the LA Times' Literary Blog (which is pretty fantastic by the way) called Jacket Copy.

Whether this turns out to be a rapidly corrected glitch as Amazon seems to be claiming, or a signal of future policy, I think Carolyn Kellogg at Jacket Copy really summed it up perfectly:

But as troubling as the unevenness of the policy of un-ranking and de-searching certain titles might be, it's a bit beside the point. It's the action itself that is troubling: making books harder to find, or keeping them off bestseller lists on the basis of their content can't be a good idea.

Book Ends

More chatter about the end of the publishing industry showed up in the Los Angeles Times yesterday in this article written by Tom Engelhardt.

The article updates a lot of similar articles that this site has linked to and discussed in the past with new information about recent layoffs and cutbacks in the industry. So in some sense, it's a traditional "Here lies the publishing industry" piece. However, one new bit of insight is Engelhardt's commentary that the book has resisted the presence of advertisements more effectively than any other print media:

This, in our world, has to be considered some kind of unnoticed miracle. Yes, early books sometimes had quack medicine ads in them and, for years, certain paperbacks had ads for other books (by the same publisher) at the back, but the book largely resisted the ad. Even after publishers began wrapping book covers around anything from movie novelizations to material that had once been confined to "police gazettes" or Hollywood fan mags, the ad still -- against all logic -- stayed away.

Now that is interesting. And even at the expense of the industry, I hope the ad continues to stay away from the novel.

Thanks to the many people that drew my attention to this article.

Evolve or DIE

It seems to me that there has been a lot of chatter amongst interested parties - including this blog - about how the publishing industry is in some sort of death spin. Everywhere I turn, there are articles and discussions attempting to take the publishing industry's blood pressure, and then bemoaning the weak result.

Recent case in point - an article in New York Magazine by Boris Kachka, "The End." The article is both illuminating and disturbing, presenting the usual business view, as well as a look back at the history of the industry and an insider angle which is not often shared with outsiders like me.

Yet, I come to the end of the article feeling terrified. Terrified of the ominous threat of Amazon, terrified of the impending doom of Borders, terrified of the unknown future of technology.

Here's the thing: the publishing industry has to change if it wants to remain an industry. It has to figure out a way to increase its profit margin, to expand, to keep selling its product in whatever form is actually going to sell.

But me, I don't have to change, I just have to change my expectations. Even without the promise of a fat advance, or an earned out royalty check, or a coveted spot on the best seller list, I have faith that there will always be writers. They'll do it for the love of the art, for the love of sharing their story. They'll find partners in technology, people who support them, read them, believe in them.

And whether or not anyone is making any money, I'll still be here reading.

Speaking of Giant Corporations Taking Over the World...

...Amazon bought Shelfari.com. Read about it in Publisher's Weekly.

Shelfari, if you've never heard of it, is what I would call the book nerds' social networking site. The site allows you to log all the books you've read, are reading, and want to read; allows you to rate and tag your books; provides a forum for discussions and discussion groups about books; and it provides you widgets for your various social pages/blogs. Please see my side bar of books for an example.

Here's the thing about Shelfari - I don't like it. The discussion forums are poorly designed and almost impossible to use or follow so I've long since given up participating in the one group I joined. The site also has annoying mouse sensitive features that pop up windows whenever your mouse rolls over a book cover. Not long ago when they introduced their "design" changes, they simply rolled out changes in the way your Shelfari shelf would appear. Do you want your shelf to appear as oak or mahogany? Who cares?!

I keep up my Shelfari account only for the widget (the one previously mentioned on the right) and also because I like keeping track of all the books I've ever read. I'd like to think that I am the target audience for Shelfari, being a book buying nerd, and yet, it simply doesn't work for me.

So in a way, there's a secret part of me that's hopeful about Amazon's purchase of Shelfari. Perhaps some actual user friendly function will be introduced to the site. Maybe there will be some useful discussion about literary things. Or perhaps the site will simply be optimized for better book hawking.

It's also notable that Amazon not long ago bought Abebooks which, according to the Publisher's Weekly article, controls 40% of Shelfari's competitor LibraryThing. I've never used LibraryThing, which might offer some improvements on some of the function failures of Shelfari, but I have no idea. Does the future hold consolidation of these two sites? An answer can't be that far off.

In the end, I think the founders of Shelfari have gotten exactly what they wanted: They built a site with just enough gloss and minimal function to build their membership and now they've sold it for what I hope, is a tidy profit. Cut and run, my friends. Cut and run.

Shopping Independent - An Open Question

A little while ago a friend sent me a link to IndieBound, an organization that unites and supports independent booksellers in the U.S. One of the site's features is that they offer bloggers the option of becoming an affiliate, which means that when I discuss a book, I could link to the book through the IndieBound site to help readers purchase it from bookstores in their neighborhood. This is similar to the partner program that Powell's Books offers that I've seen on other friends' sites. In this way, I would be helping to encourage people to buy their books local, instead of linking to Amazon's page or any other multinational bookselling chain.

The question that keeps coming to mind is why? Why is buying from independent bookstores better than buying from multinational chains?

This is one of those values that a lot of people take for granted as obvious. Of course it's better to buy from small shops instead of big companies! Corporations are evil! Aren't they?



On the homepage of the IndieBound website they list three main reasons for supporting independent booksellers: The Economy, The Environment, and The Community. And they cite a couple of statistics and make a couple of claims, none of which I would consider to be particularly strong arguments.

For example, according to the site, "Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43." But does it naturally follow that this is better for the economy? If instead you were to support a publicly traded company, doesn't that help the overall national economy, creating more jobs nationally and improving the economy for everyone? With an almost pure arts background, I don't have the answer to that question, I'm simply skeptical enough to ask it.

So here are a few questions for you to chew on:

1. Do you think it's important to buy your books from independent booksellers rather than multinational chains? Why or why not?

2. How do you think shopping independent supports the local economy? The national economy?

3. How does shopping independent support the publishing industry? The same or different?

4. How does shopping independent support writers? The same or different?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic - any of the questions or none - I'm trying to learn from our collective wisdom.

GRUDGE MATCH: Barnes & Noble vs. the Olympics

Barnes & Noble reported its second quarter financial results today, and in no surprise to me, sales are down. The report largely blames America's weak economy for slipping sales. You can read about the report on Reuters.

However, there is also an article on Yahoo! News regarding the report, and something buried way down in the text caught my eye:

"Barnes & Noble also said it received less store traffic during telecasts for the Olympics this month."

I couldn't find this confirmed anywhere else in a cursory search, though I think the reason for that is it was reported on a webcast conference call of B&N's senior management this morning, the transcript of which you have to pay $39 to download. I appreciate each and every one of you readers, but I have no intention of paying $39 to confirm a very odd comment in a Yahoo! article.

I know marketing executives make a living drawing correlations like that - oh yes, all of our customers are simply watching the Olympics, too distracted by sports to even think about book browsing - but sometimes they just make me laugh.

I've been enjoying reading about the Olympics more than I've enjoyed watching the Olympics, mostly because I'm never home when the good Olympics coverage comes on and instead I keep catching random qualifying heats and early round matches of badminton.

I did, however, catch Usain Bolt's crazy fast 100 meter dash. Now, that would solve Barnes & Noble's Olympic troubles - if we could all run as fast as Bolt, we could be off to the bookstore at the starting gun of the commercial break and be back on the couch with our brand new books in time for Bob Costas to say "Welcome back to Beijing."

L.A. Times Earthquake: Shaking the Foundation of Literary Life in Los Angeles

For the last few years, the Los Angeles Times newspaper has been seeing a decline in circulation, a decline that is likely mimicked across the country amongst even the best of old school print media. The newspaper has been making its own news; a takeover, and then massive and highly controversial staff slashing.

The most recent in a growing list of casualties is the Sunday Book Review, a weekly stand alone section of the paper dedicated to literary features and reviews. The section has been a part of the Sunday paper for 33 years. According to Publishers Weekly, the Sunday Book Review is scheduled to see its last issue this Sunday.

I've had many discussions with friends about the changing nature of news reporting and media sources in the internet age, including some who have themselves been victims or refugees of newspaper downsizing. I don't have a magic solution to this problem. I myself am not a paper subscriber, just a paper leech, stealing the Sunday Book Review section from my office paper first thing on Monday morning. Also, I confess to being an avid N.Y. Times Online reader, where I can click just the stories that interest me.

However, it strikes me as odd that the current tactic to fight the declining circulation is to subtract value from the paper, instead of to add to it. Friend to this site Molly's Brother.com recently posted an open letter to the Times that thoughtfully addressed how the paper can increase their revenue and better integrate their online presence.

I could wax on here about what Los Angeles loses with the end of the Sunday Book Review, but I think it is much more elegantly expressed in this letter to the editor written by four former editors of the Sunday Book Review:

Angelenos in growing numbers are already choosing to cancel their subscriptions to the Sunday Times. The elimination of the Book Review, a philistine blunder that insults the cultural ambition of the city and the region, will only accelerate this process and further wound the long-term fiscal health of the newspaper.

Good Thing Books Don't Melt

Baby, it's HOT in L.A.

On most summer evenings I can wrangle a cool breeze in through the window, but some nights are oppressively hot, the air so still it's as if the entire city is holding its breath. With temperatures expected to reach into the triple digits today, my guess is that tonight will be such a night.

In order to escape the heat, I've been looking for activities to do that would get me out of the apartment and into someplace air-conditioned, other than the movies. In the LA Times Calendar section, I came across an event scheduled for tonight in Pasadena.

Lewis Black, ranter/comic, is scheduled to read a portion of his book, Me of Little Faith, and do a book signing at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena tonight at 7:30. What a great evening that could be! Go early to the bookstore to pick up a live event ticket for later, then head to one of the many delicious eateries in Old Town Pasadena for a glass of cool iced tea and a relaxing meal, and then return to the bookstore in time for the reading.

Major drawback: the website says the event is outside. It's possible that it will already be pretty cool by 7:30, so it may certainly be worth the trip, but that's not exactly the air-conditioned respite I was hoping for.

Either way, libraries and book stores (and their events) are the perfect escape from the hot summer heat. So grab your book or your laptop and go support an independent bookseller through the hot summer months, while saving money and energy of your own.

Stay cool out there kids!

On a Roll!

Friend and writer colleague Erika Swyler is picking up some steam! Her short story, The Light Touch, has been published in the most recent addition of Semaphore magazine. The current issue is available for viewing online here. I hope you'll take the time to read her excellent writing - and if you do, please also take one more moment to survey the issue, and in particular Erika's work, here. Giving the editors feedback is a great way for them to know what writing is speaking to you and sparking your interest, and helps support writers and colleagues like Erika.

Congratulations, Erika!

There Can Be Only One: A Literary Smackdown

It's a beautiful spring in Los Angeles, and this is a beautiful week for writers. On Wednesday, LA Weekly released their 2008 literary supplement issue. The issue is overflowing with good stuff - John Banville writing on Belgian mystery novelist Georges Simenon; a Salman Rushdie excerpt from The Enchantress of Florence; an introspective on bookselling by Los Angeles bookselling legend Doug Dutton; and a check-in on the health of the novel by Joe Donnelly - among many more.

For my money (*cough*LA Weekly is free*cough*), the most enjoyable of the articles was a humorous complaint about the mystery surrounding the awarding of literary prizes and a commentary on what the author thinks should be the future of prize giving - "The Brief, Wondrous Tournament of Books" by Nathan Ihara. In the article, Ihara discusses The Morning News' Tournament of Books, a critics and readers showdown that pits books against each other in a March Madness NCAA style single-elimination tournament. You can see this year's tournament results here.

I've got a lot of links going in this article, all of them worthy of your perusal. Get to reading everyone!

Festivals, Festivals and More Festivals

You can hardly turn around in Southern California these days without stumbling across a Festival. It seems that we're all eager to begin enjoying the spring weather. Last weekend had the Coachella Music Festival and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, both which were estimated to attract between 140,000 and 160,000 attendees. It's exciting to hear that many people interested in books and reading.

A much lesser known festival, in a town that I'm rather fond of is beginning tomorrow and carrying on through the weekend. It's the Ojai Storytelling Festival. Ojai is a pretty little town, just an hour north of Los Angeles in Ventura County. It sits in a bowl of low mountains that turn pink at sunset. The majority of its cute shops line one short block, but great hikes are everywhere. If you get up in the mountains you can take in gorgeous views of the Ojai valley, with its orange groves and white wood-fenced farms. It's very hot in the summertime, but this time of year should be perfect.

The Ojai Storytelling Festival is a great event for families, but there is an adults only event on Saturday night. Let me know if you end up attending!

Reading for the Time Impaired

Not too long ago, I posted about the evolving way that literature is being consumed, and how that affects us as writers. All of the comments on that post, including a recent one that has me revisiting the topic, acknowledged that as a culture we seem to be moving towards consuming our entertainment in short bursts.

Well, apparently, we're not the only people who think so. Established about a year ago, DailyLit is a website that allows subscribers to receive daily portions of books in their e-mail inbox or RSS. In this way, reading some of those classic monstrosities that have always been intimidating (I'm looking at you War and Peace) suddenly seem not so scary.

Classic works in the public domain are offered free of charge, but now with over 100,000 users (Newsweek), DailyLit is charging for new releases offered in the same way. Unlike what we were talking about, the novel is written in the usual format, only it's parceled for consumption. Think how successful a novel could be if it were specifically written to be consumed at this pace, with hanging moments and well planned drama. See, we're wrapping back around to Charles Dickens, and the serial.

This idea appeals to me in some sense. I'm at my desk/computer for 80% of my day it seems, so why not have that bit available to read while I'm taking a break from my work, or waiting for something to upload? On the other hand, I'm still not sold on reading without having that book in my hand, or being able to curl up with it in bed.

So, in order to form an educated opinion on the site, I will be selecting a free classic to subscribe to, and I will see how I like the service. At the moment, I'm choosing between Moby Dick (260 parts) and A Tale of Two Cities (170 parts), both classics that I have not read.

As always, I will keep you updated with my progress. I hope if any of you decide to try it out, you'll let me know how it goes.

Urgent Message to Publishers: Stop Being So Naïve

Though I had no intention of writing two entries today, in my check-in over at the UCLA Writers' Programs Blog written by Corey Campbell, she referenced this story about yet another highly acclaimed memoir revealed to be fabricated, and I felt compelled to comment. Apparently, Margaret B. Jones, author of Love and Consequences was not even remotely the foster child/gang member/drug runner that she claimed to be in her memoir. In fact, she grew up rather close to my own hometown in the San Fernando Valley, in an upper middle class white family (with her birth parents) and attended private school. It wasn't until her sister spotted her in a NY Times House & Home article and outed her to her publisher that she admitted her fabrication.

I don't feel the need to explain why I find this never-ending stream of mendacious authors appalling. I think it goes without saying. I will say however that it's about time that editors wise-up and start doing some background checking. It's one thing to embellish actual events. It's another to make up an identity.

At the end of the International Herald Tribune article (linked above), the Love and Consequences' editor, Sarah McGrath, says of a recent conversation with Margaret B. Jones about the fabrication that "She seems to be very, very naïve..." Really? Since when are 33 year old women naïve?

Let me tell you Sarah McGrath, Margaret B. Jones couldn't possibly be as naïve as you. Wise up and start doing some basic background checks. Then you won't have to do this.

Literary Life in Los Angeles

I am pleased to have recently stumbled across yet more evidence of Los Angeles' lively literary scene. Red Hen Press is a non-profit publisher of poetry, fiction and non-fiction, dedicated to supporting "quality writing that is being ignored or overlooked by large or commercial publishers." In addition to their catalog, Red Hen Press is involved in promoting literary happenings in the city, including a series of readings at the Geffen Playhouse and public author events.

Since 2003, Red Hen Press has also published their own literary journal, The Los Angeles Review. Back issues are available for order here, along with information about how to submit your own writing (though it's a bit difficult to tell whether they are currently accepting submissions).

For those of you not in Los Angeles, the Red Hen Press home page offers a Poem of the Day for a quick treat during your work break.

As soon as my busy schedule allows, I'll attend one of their live events and report back on it here. Until then, I'll peruse their catalog, and let you know of any other tidbits I discover.

PUBLISHED!

A hearty congratulations to good friend and colleague Erika Swyler, whose short story, "Transcontinental," has been published in the latest edition of the online literary journal anderbo.com. Not only has her writing been included, but she is featured on the main page!

You can link directly to "Transcontinental" here.

Congratulations, Erika!

WGA Votes to Accept Deal

As art trips forward into the uncharted world of new media, it's incumbent on all of us to find the balance between enjoying the greater dissemination of work technology offers and ensuring that artists are properly compensated for monies derived from work accessed through new media. If you have been following the Writers Guild of America strike over the past few months, you know that new media has been touted as one of the largest sticking points (as closed door negotiations keep the media from knowing the exact nature of the issues on the table).

This weekend, the WGA East and West voted to approve the current deal offered, that was largely modeled after the deal that was approved by the Directors Guild of America in January.

Both deals essentially double the rates paid for TV shows and films sold as Internet downloads, once certain break-points are reached. And they require studios to work with union talent on content produced specifically for the Web, though lower-budget productions are exempt.

Both pacts also set new "residual" fees for ad-supported online streaming of TV shows. But the WGA gained a modest improvement over the directors' deal in the form of a higher potential residual in the third year of its contract.

Excerpt quoted from Reuters, February 10, 2008.